Daddy's Little Girl
by KinomotoAngel818
Summary: Determined to escape an incestuous relationship, Sakura Kinomoto runs away from the only home she's known. In the city of Sha Tin, she finds refuge among new friends, and the beginnings of a new romance with the heir to the Li Clan, Li Syaoran. But Sakura soon discovers that running away from daddy,isn't as easy as it seems. Can daddy's little girl truly be free?
1. Prologue

_Prologue_

It was as if the curtains suddenly had been closed on the bedroom window. The full moon was blacked out, as was the clear night of stars. The room was in pitch darkness, or rather, I was blindfolded, and all I could hear was the sound of my own heavy breathing, along with the clicking of heels.

A breeze crossed my face, and then I felt a familiar caress to my skin, soft and gentle. It was how he always started, taking his time to memorize every curve and angle of my teenage body, before advancing to my lips.

"Otou-san?" I whispered, and waited, feeling the soft, moist warmth of his lips leave my own. There was no response, just the heavy silence careening through my ears and the rapid beating of my heart.

"You were always so beautiful, my cherry blossom," he whispered "even more beautiful than your mother."

I felt him remove my blindfold before my glassy pools of emerald were staring directly into his light, brown ones, tears leaking out of my eyes. "Please…" I said "don't do this…" my lips trembled, and he traced the pattern with the pad of his thumb smiling, before something cold and metallic pierced the centre of my chest.

And then…

I woke up.

* * *

My body was so tight I felt as if I were wrapped in a straightjacket around my breasts and stomach. I looked down and realised it was my own arms embracing me. I was hugging myself very tightly to keep from falling apart in sobs. I was so closed up inside myself that my heavy breathing sounded as if it were coming from someone near me.

Outside the motel room, the fingers of the wind scratched at the windowpane. The cloud that had covered the moon slid off like a thin slice of melting silvery ice and floated toward the horizon. When I relaxed my arms, I had still very much clutched my hands together so hard that I sent pain up to my wrists.

"Get a hold of yourself, Sakura Kinomoto," I whispered at the image of myself in the mirror. Under the now radiant moonlight, my creamed skin took on a brassy glow, and my eyes, gems of emerald my mother had called them, which had flamed with fear, gradually cooled into frosted orbs, glittering and flickering out until they darkened.

I took another deep breath and then, still trembling, returned to bed. I could hear the sound of whispering in the walls, probably from the people in the other room, but I couldn't make out any words. Gradually, it stopped, and I closed my eyes, willing sleep to return to me.

This wasn't the first time I've had this nightmare since running away from home, and I knew it wouldn't be the last.

But this was the sort of nightmare that would shadow my days and turn every face that looked my way into a possible mask of deception.

Why?

Because I could trust no one who would come across my path to a desperate escape, for there was that part of me who feared I'd be found and returned home to his loving arms.

That part of me that vowed to keep running and never turn back.


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

Every time I glanced into the rear-view mirror to see if we were being followed, Daichi, the trailer truck driver who had agreed to give me a ride, glanced questioningly before he had revert his gaze to the road, his long fingers moving nervously on the steering wheel as if he were playing a piano.

I knew he was having this reaction to how I was behaving, but I couldn't help _not_ look back and see if I were being pursued and wonder if _**he**_ were able to find me anywhere, no matter how far I was traveling away from him.

Maybe running away was just plain stupid and futile after all?

But no, I had no choice.

He wanted me.

I had learnt this when he declared his love for me that night he came into my bedroom and tried to… oh kami, I still can't even bring myself to say those words.

I knew I should have paid more attention to the advances he made on me, instead of allowing myself to believe it was an act of love performed by a loving step-father, but I hadn't. I was too dense and naïve to have noticed the real meaning behind his love for me, and had now found myself the target of his twisted desire.

Even Yukito, my deceased older brother Touya's best friend, had been suspicious of him, even when I was much younger. Early on, when he had been introduced by onii-chan to our step-father, he had sensed something about him that Touya hadn't or maybe didn't want to admit, especially to him.

I wondered if he had said anything to Touya before his passing. He always did felt that otou-san had watched me more closely, scrutinizing everything I did and said, and observed me more than he did anyone including my mother, Nadeshiko, before her passing. Whatever it was about me that triggered this obsession, Yukito was sure to become more worried as I grew older.

To otou-san, I am his precious cherry blossom, who blooms radiant, and more beautiful, each time I grow with age. He would always compliment me on my looks, and how I have blossomed into a stunning young lady, but of course my mind back then thought this nothing to be but a father's way of admitting sadly that I was growing up, again not reading the true meaning of his words.

He had pursued me on many occasions, before I was to enter into middle and high school, to attend Catholic girls' schools, which, from the brochures I had read, had a high rank of a prestigious education level, to an excellent amount of curricular activities and scholarship programmes, but I still refused stating that I would much rather attend a public school, to which he had hoped it would be a public girls' school.

"_Why do you insist I attend an all girls' school, otou-san? I had finally asked. I could have sworn his eyes shadowed and grew deep and dark for a moment, before retaining its natural colour, and said_

"_No reason except my worry for your safety around… boys, my darling. Young men have the tendency to lie and commit promises they do not intend to keep, and I want to shield you from that sort of treachery."_

His comforting words, to me at that time, brought a chuckle to my lips; his overprotective demeanour somewhat reminding me of how Touya would react, whenever there had been a boy, I had hung out with.

My laughter, to him, had always sounded like the tinkling of bells, and his face had gradually begun to relax more, with his lips curving upwards into a smile.

"_Mou, otou-san," I had said "you sound just like onii-chan. You don't have to worry about that, but I would much rather like to attend a public school with both boys and girls, so I may have a better social skill with the unisex, don't you think, otou-san?"_

I had thought for a moment, that the smile to his lips, had worn itself as tight, having no longer that trace of warmth or love, but decided that I must have imagined it.

"_Anything for you, my precious"_ _he said, and turned to return to his study, while I had gotten up to prepare dinner._

Surely, if I had taken a closer look at his reaction to my deciding not to attend a Catholic girls' school sooner, I may have had also begun to realise, that I was not permitted to fall in love, and that otou-san would have done whatever it took to make sure that I would remain his, and that no other man would have me.

Refusal to be his, he thought, was not an option I could consider, for I could never have a greater love than the love I had for him, so ultimately, I would belong to him alone, one way or the other.

Looking back on this entire ordeal that had presented itself to me, there must've had been a heavy, thick cloud of envy that had hovered above my father during my senior year of high school, for the boy with whom I had fallen in love with, Iwakura Akatsuki, which I had not, at the time, begun to realize, even when Akatsuki-kun had tried to make me understand, that my father was _very_ adamant, about my not seeing him anymore.

I was so under the misapprehension that otou-san's _'protectiveness'_ was strictly out of concern a father has for his only daughter, that I dismissed whatever signs had obviously pointed to his love turning into something…_more_, for me; signs such as my missing underwear, or when his gaze, hungry and full of lust I hadn't noticed, lingered on me for too long while I wore my cheerleading outfit, or when he would _'accidently'_ walk in on my taking a shower.

Even when Akatsuki-kun had claimed to me he had hired someone to kill him, did I have trouble believing otou-san was capable of such sinister ways, until that one night, before my eighteenth birthday, when he came into my room to _'talk'_ about something important with me, and I felt afterwards, his wet, moist lips on mine, did I knew now he had love me not as a step-daughter or a real daughter, but as a woman he would soon make his.

I had sat there stunned before I felt him straddle me on the bed, and had begun trailing hungry, wet kisses to my neck; my body numbed as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on me, afterward my mind snapping back to reality when I felt his hand slip under my nightgown, and I cried a loud no, pushing him off.

He had growled, angry, and had slap me hard across the face, before I felt his weight on top of me once more, and my hands being restraint, while I screamed and struggled beneath him.

"_Shh…." He whispered as I whimpered "It will be alright now, my precious, you will only be given a taste of what I have in stored for us when we consummate our marriage."_

I felt tears leaked out of my eyes as I couldn't believe what I was hearing, let alone believed what was about to take place. Surely he wouldn't dare to…to… his own step-daughter, would he?

"_Please, no" I whimpered "don't do this, let me go" I begged._

I felt him squeezed my breast and that's when I began to thrash more, beneath him, tears streaming down my cheeks and I cried _"Stop! Let me go otou-san! Let me go!"_

"_Shh…"_ he said again, trying to sooth me. I felt my panties being removed and I squeezed my eyes shut feeling the tears spill endlessly down my face, before I felt his heavy weight leave me, and heard a voice yell _"Get the hell off of her!"_

At that night, I had never been so glad and relieved to have Akatsuki-kun bust through that door, and told myself how fortuitous it was that he had stopped by to return my wallet I had left in his car, and that he had heard my screams.

"_We have to get you out of here, Sakura" he said to me the evening otou-san had found me staying at a motel across town, and had tried to 'persuade' me to come back to him._

"_Please…, can't you come with me?" I asked "if you stay here and I'm gone, and if what you had told me those months ago are true…, he might come after you or…"_

"_I have no doubt he will try," I looked at him with wide, panic-filled eyes, "but it's better that you are safe and away from him as soon as possible, and if I have to risk my life to do so-"_

"_You can't!" I shouted "I won't let you, we'll find another way; we'll go to the police-"_

"_Weren't you the one who told me that your step-father has connections even you don't know about?" he bit out sharply. "If we go to the police, for all we know he could have already talked to them and are out looking for you at this moment, given the false assumption that you've been kidnapped by me or some fabricated story, to make either of us look like the bad guy!"_

I knew he was right, though. Otou-san did have connections _everywhere_, and could easily locate me with the assistance given, if I remained here and not leave to some place much safer than Tomoeda, where he will be unable to find me.

I sighed, biting back the tears that had threated to spill themselves from my lids and said

"_I don't want to leave without you…," I felt a teardrop escape and ran down my cheek "but you're right."_

Rather than stay and put up with the sexual pursuit made toward me by my step-father, I fled and left Akatsuki-kun; his last words _"Be safe Sakura blossom, and be happy wherever you end up" _before he hugged me then pulled back, and pressed his lips to the top of my head.

I relived most of this while I sat silently in the passenger's side of the trailer truck that carried me farther and farther into what I hoped would be my road to freedom. I had hitched a ride with a truck driver at the diner I had taken myself to and had gotten something to eat.

"Are you alright?" Daichi asked me "You keep looking at the rear-view mirror as if you expect us to be followed or something, and I have to wonder what it is that you're really running away from."

Daichi was a Japanese man who looked to be about thirty or so, with jet black hair, though a tinge of grey had begun to streak his hair. His ebony eyes caught the glow of oncoming automobile headlights. They seemed to feed on them and grow brighter.

He turned to me. "Who's chasin' you?"

"My past," I told him. "I'm looking to get away from it, shed it like a snake sheds its old skin, and just start somewhere new."

He laughed. "My, my, at your age? That sounds to me like somethin' someone my age might say. What are you, about fifteen?"

"Eighteen." I said, I was used to being mistaken as someone a lot younger in age.

"Hmm." He hummed sceptically, which, didn't at all, bother me. He focused his eyes on me like tiny searchlights and then softened his lips into a smile.

"A pretty girl such as yourself could get anyone to believe what she wants him to believe, ne? But you still better be careful out there. There are people who will say or do anythin' to win your trust, and they'll do it cunningly without taking your welfare into mind."

"I know."

He nodded. "Maybe you do, or perhaps you're just saying that to ignore my advice," he chuckled "but I dunno what sort of street smarts you have for a young girl. You look too sweet and innocent to be strollin' through any gutter, and believe me; I've seen plenty whose lives have been lived on the streets of Tokyo."

"I can handle myself better than you think. Looks can be deceiving," I said.

He laughed.

Of course, if I had handled myself in the situation I am in a lot better than I had previously, I wouldn't be off to kami-sama knows where to get away from otou-san, and leave poor Akatsuki-kun alone.

"That's for sure about looks," he said. "Whenever I had defended a girl in my youth, my mother would always tell me 'Never trust a pretty face.'"

"Your mother had been very wise to tell you that then."

"Yep, though I did allow you to hitch a ride on my truck; hope you're not gonna try to kill me," he joked, and I gave a short chuckle, shaking my head.

A car with bright headlights came up behind us quickly. Daichi had to turn his rear-view mirror a little.

"Damn baka," he mumbled. "What the hell does he think he's gonna do, drive right through us? "

I held my breath when the car pulled out to pass us. I anticipated seeing someone otou-san had hired to find me in the driver's side, signalling for Daichi to pull over, but the vehicle didn't hesitate, and there was no such person on the driver's side, but someone smoking a cigarette, who didn't even turn our way. He went speeding on ahead indifferently. I relaxed, blowing air through my lips.

Daichi heard it and turned to me. "Sometimes you can't just run away from stuff you know, no matter how bad it may seem to be,"

He could see how nervous I was. _'I've got to get better at hiding my emotions,'_ I thought. "Yes, I know."

"Sometimes it's better to stay and fight."

I didn't respond. Right now, I had no longer wished to stay and face my step-father, who has begun to love me as someone who is not his child. No, I much rather run away like some cowardly being, than stay and face what he had planned for '_us_'

"Exactly what are your plans?" Daichi asked. "I'm goin' only so far here…"

"I thought I'd make my way to the airport," I told him. It really was an idea I had been contemplating. I thought I could get a flight and go to Hong Kong. It wasn't really a specific destination that had come to mind, just the only place I could think of that I could relatively get away to, and be as far away as possible from otou-san.

I glanced at the rear-view mirror when another vehicle drew closer.

Daichi looked too, and then he turned to me, looking a bit suspicious. "You're not a fugitive running from the law, now are you?"

"No."

He looked sceptical. "Whoever you're leavin' behind wouldn't want help to get you back?"

'_Yes'_ "No, they would never go to the police," I lied.

He shook his head. "That doesn't sound good. If you're a minor, I think I could be in some trouble if we get pulled over, you know."

"I understand. I'm eighteen, but is there a bus station coming up soon, at which you could drop me off?"

"Yeah, there's one just short of the restaurant I occasionally stop at for some dinner."

I nodded. "I'll get off there and catch a bus to the airport. You've been very much kind to me, and I do not wish to cause you any trouble."

"I hope you at least ain't makin' any for yourself," he replied.

I shook my head and gave a small, reassuring smile. "I'm okay."

"Are you goin' to family at least?"

"Yes, I have a cousin living in Hong Kong," I told him, spinning lies that came to me as easily as spinning webs came to spiders; like it was part of my DNA. "She's been dying for me to come visit her, and well, now I can."

"Hmm, well, Hong Kong is a great place. What kind of work do you hope to do?"

"I'd like to be a grade-school teacher, eventually," I said honestly. "I'll probably go to college in Hong Kong."

"That sounds pretty good." He looked at me and nodded. "At least you don't look like some of the girls I see, hitchin' rides on the highway. Most of them look like they're into something bad already, like drugs or prostitution."

"I've heard, but that won't be me, ever," I ended firmly.

He smiled. "You sound so sure of yourself."

"I am," I told him, and then thought about something my brother had once told me.

And then I began to wonder, was I an absolute fool to think I could run from him? Perhaps my only hope was that he would relinquish this twisted desire he had developed for me, and I could return in his arms happy and safe from the reality of the world.

But despite all I had learned and all that had nearly happened, it wasn't easy to develop hate for otou-san. For most of my life, after my father had passed away due to lung cancer, he had been the wonderful, loving parent who wanted me to benefit from his years of wisdom and knowledge, just as my mother had wanted. And despite what he has become and what he could do, he rarely appeared to be anything but gentle and kind to me.

I couldn't just forget all those wonderful private moments we'd had together, our walks and our conversations, and the way he would often comfort me at night when I was small.

Of course, I understood that if I succeeded in escaping, I'd have no one but myself probably for the rest of my life, however long that would be.

"It's good that you're going to be with family," Daichi said, as if he had somehow heard my thoughts. "Family's important. When you're without family, you just drift from one empty home to another. Whatever your parents did to you, you can't forget they're your parents," he warned.

"That's like a cherry blossom petal forgettin' the cherry blossom from which it came."

'_A philosophical truck driver,' _I thought to myself, and held the laugh threating to escape my lips. Someone who spent so much time on the road by himself surely had to be comfortable with his own thoughts and comforted by them.

How many times had he reminisced his own youth and agonized over his own mistakes? With the darkness around him and the glare of passing motorists carrying people to places he could only imagine were warm and friendly; he must surely have felt the pain and weight of loneliness most of the time.

Was that what awaited me, too? Would I be forever like someone traveling through a continuous journey of fear and regret?

Daichi nodded at some lights ahead of us. "That's the restaurant and bus station."

"Okay."

He pulled into the parking lot. "I hope you get to your destination safe and sound." He said

"Thank you so much," I said. "For everything, Daichi, I was lucky to have met you."

"Perhaps luck had nothing to do with it;" he winked "maybe we were meant to have met at that diner."

I laughed and nodded. "Perhaps."

"Promise me one thing, though," he said before I left.

"Okay. What's that?"

"Don't run from fear," he said, his tone grown serious. "Sometimes it takes a great absence of courage, to overcome the things, or the people, that haunt us."

I sat there stunned for a moment, thinking he had figured out what had really gone on with my life, before dismissing that impossible thought mentally, and smiled.

Did he come along just at the right time by coincidence, or was there some kami above looking over me, protecting me as I journeyed to my escape.

"You don't need me to promise," I said. "But I will. Thanks again for everything Daichi."

"You're welcome. And good luck," he said as I climbed out the passenger's side and hopped to the ground. "And watch yourself. The road ain't no place for a grown man, much less a young girl!" he called over me and I smiled, thanking him one last time and strode off.

I arrived inside the restaurant, which, to my opinion, looked to be one of those very homey kinds you just knew were frequented by the same people, a family outside of their family. It was fairly crowded, but a couple had just gotten up from a booth, to which, I sat myself on as soon as they were out the door, and the hostess came up to me.

"こんにちは、私は前にここであなたの周りを見ていない、私はメニューから何かを得ることができますか?"(Hi there, I haven't seen you around here before, can I get you something from the menu?)

"お持ちの場合イチゴのスポンジケーキのスライスをお願いし"(A slice of strawberry sponge cake please, if you have.)

"You're in luck," she said. "Karou there just finished one, and was about to put the slices out on display for the customers."

I smiled, telling her that I'll take it and some iced tea, before she jotted it down on her note pad and left. I looked out the window when my dessert and drink arrived, and turned to her to ask

"Could you get me a bus schedule, please?"

"Sure thing," she said with a smile.

'_Might as well check to see how long I would have to wait until the next bus arrives,'_ I told myself.

When the waitress brought it, I saw there was close to fifteen minutes before the bus that would take me to the airport arrived.

I quickly chucked the last piece of cake into my mouth, and drank the remainder of my tea, before I got up to pay the bill, and then headed out the door.

I sat quietly on a bench and thought about my next move when I got off the plane to Hong Kong, before the bus pulled up and I got in. It had been about an hour and half before the bus finally dropped me off at Yoshida International Airport. When I got there, I went in to buy a ticket on the next flight out. I still had no idea where in Hong Kong I would go.

Less than a half hour later, I boarded the plane and took my seat beside the window. I was feeling very tired and hoped that I could get some sleep.

The last thing I heard, had been the airhostess announcing we are about to take off, before sleep consumed me.


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

I got off the plane, feeling well rested and energetic, and had found my way to the train station. I was still undecided about where I would go or what I would do, but it felt safer to keep myself moving in almost any direction.

The distance I had travelled from home gave me a sense of security. I had been thumbing through a magazine about Hong Kong and found an interesting travel article about a town called Sha Tin.

From the description I read about the city, it seemed a perfect place in which to get lost. I had come to believe in fate and coincidence and thought that whatever kami were looking over me had put this destination in front of me for a reason.

It was more than just a suggestion. It was a road map to my salvation.

I had found that the article also advertised hotels and apartments in Sha Tin. One in particular had caught my attention because it looked so beautiful and yet unpretentious. It was the Mizuki Rooming House.

The train schedule showed me how to get there. I had no idea what I would do immediately once I was there, and I had no idea why I had such faith in myself, but I continued as if it had been my plan all along.

First, I went into a shop and bought a decent–size pink travel bag. A girl my age who arrived anywhere without a stitch of clothing or any possessions for that matter, would surely attract more attention, I thought, recalling that it already had, so I then went into the department store and bought socks, undergarments, some pants and shirts, a skirt, and a few simple dresses. I even bought myself a hat and a pair of sunglasses.

After I had those things and some basic toiletries, I felt more confident about traveling alone.

I discovered that the place I was headed for was connected to the regional subway system and was the fourth stop. I went to a pay phone and called to see if I could make a reservation at the rooming house. The woman who answered sounded young but sincere. Ms. Mizuki seemed too, a bit suspicious, and I was tempted to ask her if I was the first person ever to inquire about available space.

"_Where did you get my number, miss…"_

I had been contemplating on whether or not to give a false name and hide my true identity, but then thought it would be best to be honest, but as little as possible.

"Kinomoto," I said. "You have an advertisement in Trends . com .cn_"_

"_Oh yes, yes, yes, now I remember."_ She laughed whole-heartedly. She paused as though she wasn't going to say any more, but before I could speak, she asked_ "How long do you plan on staying?"_

"I'm thinking about looking for a job in Sha Tin," I said. "At least a few weeks, if not longer."

"_Well, you sound very young._ _I should warn you that this is a quiet place. There are people here who demand it as much as I do."_

"I don't have a problem with that, Mizuki-san, that's exactly what I'm looking for, a very quiet place."

"_I see," _she said. She hadn't quite told me yet if she had space available._ "Well you can stop in, and we'll see what we see," _she said in a pleasant manner, yet clearly sounding like someone who wouldn't take just anyone into her rooming house.

"Okay." I said, before taking down directions and thanking her. I thought that she and her place might be exactly what I needed in order to keep a low profile. Besides, from what I could see, there were quite a few other possibilities if that one didn't work out.

I headed for the subway train to Sha Tin New Town. When I arrived, I looked for a taxi to take me to the Mizuki Rooming House. The driver not only knew it well, but he also knew Ms. Mizuki, who was apparently quite a local character in this town.

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"Japan," I said. The less anyone knew about me, even a taxi driver I might never see again, the better it was, I thought.

"Came a long way from home," he said. "Your Chinese is surprisingly fluent. Most Japanese folks who come to Hong Kong have a hard time even understanding the language,"

He glanced at me in the rear-view mirror but then stopped talking, as if he was used to people who didn't care to talk about themselves with strangers. I could see in his face that he was full of questions for a young girl like me arriving in Sha Tin and heading for a rooming house, but I turned my attention to the city.

There was calmness in the busy way people moved about. The late-summer sunshine seemed already to be a great contrast with the darkness I had travelled through to get here, and yet, everything had a busy atmosphere.

I had been living in Tomoeda long enough for me to feel at home there, and it wasn't large enough for me to disappear safely but it was small enough for me to feel I was in a friendlier, warmer community.

Maybe this was all just wishful thinking, but I needed wishful thinking right then.

The taxi wound its way through busy city streets before turning off and following a more circuitous route to a very quiet side street with about a dozen houses and a few apartment buildings.

He stopped before a large, white rectangular, two-story house with rows of windows, chimneys at both ends and a front patio. Of all the houses on the street, it appeared to have the most land, with a richly green lawn cut in a perfect rectangle.

The driveway was gravel, and except for the small rose, peony and jasmine bushes in the front, the property looked quite simple yet beautiful. Just off the street, a very small sign in script read '水木出版社，1254' (Mizuki House, 1254)

The taxi driver got out to open my door and get my bag out of the trunk.

"謝謝" (Thank you) I said, and paid him the fare. He looked at the front of the Mizuki House, shrugged, and got back into his taxi. I stood watching him drive off and then rolled my bag along the slate walkway toward the front entrance. I rang the doorbell and waited.

No one came to the door, so I did it again. Twenty or thirty seconds later, the door was tugged open, and a young, slim woman with dark brown waist length hair and a braid hanging over her shoulder in a jeans and white blouse stood before me. She held a dish towel and was drying her hands.

"是嗎？"(Yes?) She said.

"你好，我的名字是木之本櫻。剛才我打電話約一個房間。" (Hello, my name is Kinomoto Sakura. I called earlier about a room.)

"等一下，" (Just one moment,) she said, and closed the door.

I thought that was quite rude of her, and for a few moments I debated turning around and walking off to find another rooming house or even an apartment, but I saw nothing remotely resembling a place to stay, and it was a good four or five blocks back to the busier street.

Just when I was contemplating on what to do, the door opened again, and this time, a young woman in a grey V-neck cashmere sweater and black lululemon pants looked at me. Her red hair had been part down the middle, with the left side having a slight lift. She ranked over me with her soft, light burgundy eyes, sizing me up and then nodding. "You're just as I had anticipated. But I hope you are eighteen at least, otherwise you're wasting your time and mine," she said, her voice firm yet sincere.

"I am," I said. "Are you Mizuki-san?"

"I am," she answered with a smile. "And I see no trouble in your eyes now, Kinomoto-san, but these eyes have seen trouble," she continued. "What do you think, Akizuki-san?"

"Exactly my thoughts," the woman who had first greeted me said. "She has the face of an angel, however."

Smiling warmly, Ms. Mizuki returned her attention to me. "You may come into the sitting room," she said, "and we'll see about you."

I didn't know whether to be amused or angry. I wasn't at this rooming house to be interviewed, and I felt like that had occurred just now. They both stepped aside to make way for my entrance.

I picked up my suitcase, hesitated, and then entered the house. Ms. Akizuki stepped forward to close the door behind me.

I was pleasantly surprised by the brightness and colour scheme of the entrance hall. The walls were painted yellow, and had the masterpiece of a Victorian design: stained-glass windows, tiled floor and original cornices. Ahead of us was a white stairway, and the air was perfumed with the scent of fresh spring flowers.

"This way," Ms, Mizuki said.

I followed them to the left to enter the sitting room, and Ms. Mizuki indicated the sofa for me, so I lowered my suitcase and sat. She took one of the chairs facing me, and Ms. Akizuki took the small couch beside me.

"This was my house originally," Ms. Mizuki began, seeing the way I had marvelled at everything around me, "It didn't begin as a rooming house, and after Akizuki-san moved in with me a few short years ago, we had then began to take in boarders. The boarders we had before the ones we presently have now, eventually became like family to us," she smiled "I'm telling you this so you will understand why it is so important to us to know all about the people who want to stay here for however long that might be." She said warmly.

"Now, as I told you, I had anticipated how young you were, and I will be honest that you are the youngest person ever to wish to board here at our rooming house."

"And naturally then," Ms. Akizuki interjected, "we would like to know a little more than usual about you. If this is offense to you…."

I shifted my legs and nodded. "What do you want to know about me?"

"Well, for starters," Ms. Akizuki said, "why are you in Sha Tin?"

'_Time to lie,'_ I thought grimly. "I wanted to start a new life some place new," I began.

My story seemed to unfold as I told it, emerging from real events to fabricated ones I invented. I realized then, whether I wanted to be a good liar or not, I was.

"And you thought Hong Kong would be a good place to start." Ms. Mizuki determined.

"Yes," I said

"Where are you from?" Ms. Akizuki asked

"Tomoeda, Japan," I said.

She nodded at Ms. Mizuki. "I thought so," she said "I've been to Japan so I can tell that you are Japanese." She smiled, "But tell us, how is it that you know Chinese?" she asked.

I could tell they were getting interested in me. I smiled and then answered.

"My mother is Chinese," I said, "I learned to speak Chinese because of her. She knew that teaching it to my brother and I when we were young was the best way to get us fluent in the language."

Ms. Akizuki nodded, then asked, "But why a rooming house? I understand you wanted to start anew from the tragedies that uphold you, but, don't you have any relatives you could have gone to?"

'_Not if I wanted otou-san to find me'_ "Both of my parents were only children as far as I knew, and both sets of grandparents are gone," I lied. "As for my step-father's family, they weren't too fond of my mother, and so developed a sense of hate toward my onii-chan and myself. I could have never gone to them."

"You poor child," said Ms. Akizuki. I could still see I had continued to swim in the stream of their sympathy. The two women were both silent a moment, and then Ms. Mizuki looked up at me and asked "What brought you to Sha Tin?"

'_Time to mix in some truth,'_ I thought. "To be honest, I read about it on the train ride I took when I left the airport and decided it was a good place to get a new start."

"But don't you want to go to college?" Ms. Akizuki asked.

"Yes, I do," I said "I fully intended to do so, but with the deaths…"

"You did not have the funds and could not, have therefore, applied." Ms, Mizuki finished.

I nodded and looked away. I could feel my wall beginning to break, but I took a deep breath and pushed back the tears that had threatened to leak. My dream had always been to attend college, as well as become a grade school teacher. But college was also something my otou-san, my biological otou-san wanted, and I had promised him that I would. Now because of the situation I'm in, I fear I may never get the chance to.

Taking another deep breath, I turned back to face them with a smile, and said

"But I haven't given up on going to college someday."

"Did you inquire about any job prospects here?" Ms. Mizuki asked.

"No, not yet," I said, "but I'm good on a computer, and I have very good organizational skills. No matter what, I want very much to try to live here for a while. This looks like just the sort of place that's quite similar, if not opposite, of where I was in Japan. I have the feeling that people are real here. I'm the sort who likes to make new friends. My mother was like that, too." I smiled thinking of her. "She taught me that if you are honest and sincere with people, they will be the same with you."

Ms. Mizuki smiled "Yes, well, here in Hong Kong, and even in Sha Tin, you are sure to meet friendly and sincere people, such like Ms. Akizuki and myself." She said, and I smiled warmly at her with a nod.

"We have room for only six guests," she began afterwards, "Currently, we have three others who have boarded here, and you'll be our fourth. There are, of course, strict rules to living here."

"I understand." I said. "I'm not afraid of rules,"

She smiled. "We'll see. We'll show you your room. You'll be sharing a bathroom downstairs, which was a recent installation, with Ms. Cho. She is staying here because she is waiting for her new house to be renovated."

"Then afterward we can give you a tour around the house," Ms. Akizuki added with a smile.

"Yes, but for now, let's get you settled into your room, "Ms. Mizuki said, "Have you had any lunch yet?"

"Lunch?" I smiled

"What's so funny?" Ms. Akizuki asked

"I was so involved in my travel, I forgot to get something to eat, too," I said sheepishly.

Ms. Akizuki laughed. "This girl is something, isn't she, Kaho-chan?"

Ms. Mizuki smiled, rising. "You just make yourself at home here for a few minutes while we go prepare lunch. I'm a little hungry myself." She said.

The two of them left me. I gazed around the room. I had no reason to feel at home and no expectations of really finding friendship at all.

But somehow, it felt as if I had.

Was it merely a wish? A need so great it would paper over reality and perhaps even leave me more vulnerable than I was before I had begun my journey of escape?

Hong Kong is bright here, cosy and warm.

'_Quit fooling yourself, Sakura,'_ I told myself. _'The winds of darkness you left behind are surely blowing its way vigorously in every direction at this very moment, searching for you, waiting to swallow you up and take you back to the fate you were destined to have.'_

It's was as if I could feel his hot breath brush against my ear as he whispered

'_You can't run forever and escape from me, my darling. I will find you.'_


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

I hadn't realized how hungry I really was and was gobbling my food. Touya would always say I was vacuuming the food up from my plate.

"_I always knew your mouth was a vacuum kaijuu." _He would say, and then smirk.

Back then, I had always hated the way he would tease me about how I ate, and I would usually grow annoyed with him doing so, but now, I'd give anything to hear him tease me like that again, even call me 'monster' like he always would.

"You must've been pretty hungry Sakura-chan," Ms. Akizuki giggled. "You're practically wolfing down your food." She said.

"Oh I am?" I asked, blushing in embarrassment. "遺憾" (Sorry)

"Oh no, no, no, please, wolf down." She laughed, and then smiled. "It lets me know you enjoy my cooking."

And I did. It was delicious, and despite the sorry face I wore, I was beginning to enjoy the first really relaxing moments I'd had since getting on that truck with Daichi. The dining room was surprisingly bright and airy because of the sliding patio doors and two large windows. Ms. Mizuki had explained that this part of the house had recently been renovated, recently being three months ago.

"We usually don't provide lunch for our guests," she continued, "This is really a bed-and-breakfast, but we do have what is called half-board if you want to take your dinners with us as well." She said warmly.

So there would be no misunderstandings, she wrote out the prices.

"Now, after you're done eating, we'll show you to your room." She said. "I'll give you a discount because you're just starting out here." She smiled.

"Thank you," I said. "And thank you so much for the lunch. It's delicious."

Ms. Akizuki beamed with delight. "Thank you and you're very welcome." She said. "Everything I make is delicious. And at the moment, our three other guests are half-board because they know they'll get a dinner ten times better than anything in any ole restaurant out there," she added.

"I'd very much like to do the same," I said.

"Very wise decision." She said.

"Well now," Ms. Mizuki said, seeing that I had finished my lunch, "shall we show you to your room, Sakura?"

"Yes, please," I said.

We went out to the white stairway I saw earlier, and started up. It wasn't a long stairway and we turned right and then went to the third floor, where she paused before a white door and said "Your room," with a smile, and opened the door to reveal two large windows on each side of a simple white enamelled four-poster bed, with purple bedspread and bedding, maybe half the size of my bed I had back home in Japan.

The windows faced the street, and the dark purple crinkle cotton curtains, with cute flower motif, were tied back so the light fell fully on the small white table beside the bed. On it was a lavender-coloured Chinese lamp.

There was a mirrored dressing table; a long mirror on what I imagined was the closet door, a writing desk and chair in the far right corner, and a bureau on the left.

"This is a very beautiful and comfortable-looking room," I said.

"I'm glad you like it," Ms. Mizuki said warmly. "Why don't you settle in?" she said as she started to the door. "I'm going to make a phone call for you right away."

"Phone call for me?" I asked, confused.

She paused and turned back around to me with a smile. "I'm calling my niece Li Xiefa," she said, "she's part owner of Li Corp and is always looking for qualified help. I'm sure she'll grant you an interview, maybe today,"

"That's very kind of you, Mizuki-san."

"It's no trouble at all," she said, "and please, call me Kaho."

"Thank you, Kaho."

"And you can call me Nakuru." Nakuru added. I smiled and nodded.

"Nakuru will explain the rules to you," Kaho continued. "And as I said, you'll be sharing a bathroom downstairs with Gwyneth Cho."

"She'll be surprised," Nakuru muttered. "She's had it all to herself up until now. That's a woman who is used to her own personal comfort and not used to sharing anything except trouble."

"I'm sure she will not monopolize the bathroom," Kaho said. Nakuru scoffed with some scepticism. Kaho merely shook her head and then turned back to me.

"Nakuru is of the opinion that Ms. Cho has her sights set on my nephew, Li Xiao Lang, and that this was her true intention when she came to stay here until her matters are settled. My brother-in-law, Xiao Lang's father, died in a terrible car accident when Xiao Lang was thirteen. Yelan, my sister, also Xiao Lang's mother, had four daughters with him too, four years earlier, my nieces Xiefa, the one I told you is part owner of Li Corp, and her sisters, Fuutie, Fanren and Feimei, who are also part owners of the company, but establish different careers from Xiefa and Xiao Lang.

Neither of them is fond of Gwen Cho and Syaoran, that's his name in Japanese, isn't interested in a woman who resembles his ex-fiancée." she said. "I'll let you know what my niece says."

She left and closed the door, leaving me with Nakuru.

"It's true about Xiao Lang's taste in women," Nakuru said afterwards. "He'd never go for someone like Gwen, not after the horrendous experience with his engagement to his ex-fiancée ending four years ago."

"Who was she, the ex-fiancée, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Sayuri Shiau. She used to be a secretary at Li Corp. Xiao Lang's secretary actually. But after the engagement between her and Syaoran ended, she quit and left Li Corp and hasn't been seen since."

"You mean she disappeared?" I asked.

Nakuru scoffed. "More like ran off with her little _amant français_. She's been seeing that Pepé Le Pew for almost the same number of years she and Xiao Lang have been together, and was only after his money and thought she could get away with it too." She said.

She shook her head. "Xiao Lang was devastated when he found out the truth. And since then he's cut himself off from the outside world, and has only been focusing on work. Kaho and Yelan both worry about him. He masks himself with a cold exterior, and never smiles."

'_Poor guy,'_ I thought. But then, what good would it do to cut yourself off from the outside world, or even be rude to everybody, if only it makes you a jerk and not heal your pain.

This Syaoran must've felt real heartache from his ex-fiancée two-timing him, if he became such a cold-hearted beast and buries his life into his work.

"Sorry," Nakuru said afterward, snapping me from my train of thought. "I shouldn't have rambled off like that, nor is it my place to talk about other peoples' personal lives."

I shook my head. "No it's okay," I said. "I shouldn't have asked." I smiled.

She returned my smile with one of her own. "You know, I like how you are Sakura-chan," she said. "if you get that job working with Kaho's niece at Li Corp, maybe Xiao Lang will like you to." she winked playfully at me.

I looked at her with a lost expression and she giggled.

"Now, as to the rules," she said afterward, ending her fits of giggles. "We don't tolerate any smoking in the house or on our grounds."

"I don't smoke," I said

That's good," she smiled. "Hopefully you'll keep to that. It goes without saying that drugs and alcohol are off-limits as well. We do serve wine at dinner, and we do provide after-dinner brandy and a homemade grape wine from time to time. I don't think it will do you any harm to partake despite your age. We do that mainly on holidays or other special occasions, like birthdays or congratulations to someone, but no alcohol is permitted in any of the bedrooms.

I nodded.

"We expect you will respect the furniture and the linen and towels we provide. Everything is replaced daily, but how you keep your room tells us pretty quickly how much you respect it. As to comings and goings… Kaho will provide you with your own house key, of course. We're not here to supervise you, but just ask that you take care to move about quietly after eleven. There are no overnight guests permitted, unless notified by Kaho or myself," she concluded.

"You two are the only ones I know here," I said.

"For now," she winked, "A young lady as pretty as you will soon have a trail of young men coming to the door." She giggled.

"We permit socializing in the living room during decent hours, of course," she continued, "and you can offer anyone tea and biscuits during the visit, if, like I told you, we know about it in advance. There's a T.V downstairs in the living room as you saw earlier, and a cordless phone in the kitchen in case you would like to make a phone call. No long distance calls though." she added, "There's a patio out front with chairs for you to sit and relax on, and there's also a garden to the back." She concluded. "So, unless you have any questions…"

"No, everything is wonderful," I said.

She smiled. "I'll bring your towels and washcloths shortly."

She rose and started to the door, but paused and said

"Oh!" she turned back to me. "I forgot to tell you about our current two other guests.

One of them is Mr. Atashi Nanami, a twenty-four year old man who teaches Mathematics at Sha Tin Private High," she said. "It's an all girls' private secular school for grades six to twelve. He mostly teaches the high school students. He's a very shy young man, but very attractive." She winked. "And our other guest is Mr. Michael Williams, a thirty-two year old Canadian who works as an Architectural designer. You'll meet everyone at dinner, if not before."

"Okay." I said

She left and closed the door behind her, the resulting silence feeling heavy.

Everything that had happened to me and everything I had done had gone by so quickly that I hadn't stopped long enough to think about it all and fully contemplate the possibilities that loomed on the horizon.

Now that Kaho-san and Nakuru-san had left me alone, it all came flooding back at me. The reality was that this was the first time I was really on my own, the first time I was away from whatever family I had known, and the first time I was truly responsible for myself.

As it would for any eighteen year old teenage girl, that prospect filled me with mixed emotions tugging against one another, especially excitement and concern. For a few moments, I thought only of my escape and freedom to do whatever I wanted.

The rules Nakuru-san had described were restraints that applied only in the house. Out there, I could dress, say, and do whatever the hell I wanted whenever the hell I wanted. I didn't have to worry about what my step-father would think and say. The only one I had to please, was myself. If I wanted to get drunk and make a fool of myself, I could. Not that I would anyway, but still. I didn't have to be careful about whom I spoke to and what I said, as long as what I said had nothing to do with my real reason behind coming here.

I wasn't afraid of my freedom either. I had always had great self-confidence, even though there were times when I doubted or question it. My biggest problem, should be sharing a bathroom with a woman who was full of herself.

All of this filled me with optimism, but when I gazed out of my bedroom windows and looked down at the bright streets reeking of peace and contentment, I could imagine the creeping, crawling, dark troubles that awaited me seep in and over it all, finding the cracks in the perfection, slipping through any tiny opening, oozing over the immaculate streets and sidewalks, embracing the houses and darkening the hearts of fathers who would suddenly fear for their teenage daughters as much as their teenage daughters fearing them.

Would I really be far away from otou-san? Or have I been deluding myself.

I opened the window and listened to the breeze tip-toeing over the tops of houses and trees until it circled the house to dance a ballet in the sunlight. I smiled. I had made the right choice in fleeing and coming here. Life here was surely a breath of fresh air. I told myself that otou-san most likely expected that I would flee to America, preferably New York since I had told him once my plans on visiting there after my High School graduation.

For a frightening moment, however, I wondered if he weren't right to assume that and if I wasn't wrong to ignore it.

My terrible fear was that he would find me, and I would soon be on my way again, fleeing, searching for that impossible place that would enable me to be safe from his clutches, and let me be free of him.

He would have to turn back in the end, wouldn't he? He would reluctantly decide to let me go. He would be touched by some miraculous realization that attempting an incestuous relationship with your daughter, biological or not, was wrong.

At least, that was my prayer.

I turned to my small suitcase and unpacked my things. The very act of settling into another room in another house felt like another big step in my emancipation. I decided to take a shower and change into fresh clothes. While I was dressing, there was a knock on my door.

"是嗎？" (Yes?)

"When you are ready to come down, let me know," Kaho said through the closed door. "My niece just called back. She would like to interview you this afternoon. She'll send a car around for you."

Excited, I wrapped a large, soft, towel around myself, to hide my bra and panties from being shown, and opened the door.

"真的嗎？" (Really?) I asked.

"Yes," she smiled. "Put on something nice but not something that's, well, obvious? You know what I mean. Shall I call her to tell her you'll be ready in ten minutes?"

"Yes, thank you so much, Mizuki-san."

"Kaho," she said

"Kaho." I smiled and closed the door.

Could all of this happen for me so quickly? Was there some good angel looking out for me after all?

I went into a small panic. This was no time to make any mistakes.

'_But I only have two outfits to choose from,' _I thought. One was a skirt and blouse, and the other was a pair of designer jeans and a blouse. Which was more conservative?

The skirt's hem was about two inches below my knees. Was that too 'obvious'?

I decided not to risk it and just settled on the pants outfit. I pinned my hair up quickly. I wore light make up on. I rarely needed anything than a little brush of lipstick and light eye shadow. Any more than that might ring some alarm bells.

After one more look at myself, I hurried out and down the stairs, to where both Kaho and Nakuru waited to inspect me.

"I don't have very much with me," I said, nearly moaning when I didn't hear either offer some approval.

"Well with her looks and figure, you can't do much more to be subtle anyway," Nakuru said.

Kaho nodded. "That's fine. For now," she added. "If you should get the job, you'll need to buy some appropriate work attire, however." She said.

"Yeah, Xiefa has a number of young men working for her, who'll drop dead at the mere sight of you." Nakuru giggled and said.

I nodded.

We heard a car horn, and a vehicle had pulled into the driveway, a black Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUV.

Nakuru opened the door so quickly and roughly I thought she might rip it off its hinges.

"Dammit Eriol! There's no need to wake the dead!" she cried at the blue hair man in a suit and tie sitting behind the steering wheel.

"Sorry Nakuru," he called back.

"That's Eriol Hiiragizawa. He's been friends with Syaoran a long time," Kaho said. "And is engaged to one of the secretaries working at Li Corp." she added.

How small was this city? I wondered. How long would it be before they knew some of the real details of my life?

I smiled at the women and headed for the car.

"Good luck," Nakuru called after me.

I turned, smiled, and waved.

Before I got into the passenger's seat, I glanced down the street.

Something had made me decide to turn and look, even though it was very quiet and there was no other traffic.

Maybe it was my imagination, or my mind playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw my brother, my dead brother, Touya, standing on the corner and looking my way.

I blinked, and he was gone.


	5. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

"你好," (Hi there,) Eriol Hiiragizawa said when I got into the passenger's seat. "I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol."

"Kinomoto Sakura," I said.

He lifted up one of my hands and kissed my knuckles, his lips as soft as butterfly wings. I felt a blush creep up my cheeks but I refused to let it be shown.

He smiled at me then looked out at Nakuru-san and Kaho-san, who were still watching us with hawk eyes.

"Those two…" he said, shaking his head before nodding at them; afterward, he began to back out of the driveway.

They didn't go back into the house until we pulled away. I glanced into the rear-view mirror and saw that the street was still empty. Had that really been Touya I saw? It couldn't be because he died in a tragic car accident when I was fifteen. My imagination must've been playing games with me, I guessed. Actually, I hoped.

"How long have you been in Sha Tin?" Eriol asked. He appeared to be in his early twenties and also looked to be in great shape. His face was oval-shaped with smooth skin and clear cheekbones. I thought his best feature was his eyes, the colour of sapphire.

"Only a few hours," I said.

He nearly lost control of the car. "A few _hours?_"

"Yes."

He adjusted his glasses. "Are you a friend of the family or something?

"No. I just met Kaho-san. I found her rooming house listed in a travel magazine, called, and just settled in."

He nodded. "I see. And she recommended you to be her niece's private secretary?"

I smiled at his scepticism. "Well I didn't actually know it was for the position of Li-san's private secretary, and besides, I'm just going in for an interview," I said.

"Yeah, but you don't know the influence she has with my boss. She had just as much to do with bringing Xiefa up as did her own mother, her sister."

"Well then since Kaho-san has such a positive influence on your boss then she'll be wise enough to make the right decision in something as serious as her private secretary. I think Kaho-san was just being kind."

"Just being kind?" he laughed and looked at me. "What are you, eighteen?"

"Every day of it and some more," I said.

He nodded and smiled. When he smiled, his face softened and brought out the sapphire of his eyes even more. "Well, I'll say this much. You hit this city at a right time. Xiefa's looking for a replacement for her last secretary that transferred into their Colombian branch of Li Corp."

"What exactly is Li Corp?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "You're joking right?" he asked.

"What am I joking about?" I asked.

He gaped at me. "You mean you've really never heard of Li Corp or know what it's about?"

"No."

He shook his head. "Then I guess you've never heard of the famous Li Clan, I presume." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Who are the Li Clan?" I asked.

"The Li Clan, currently, is an extensive family, with affluence in not only in Hong Kong, but all over the world. They have many factions, including a hospital branch which has gained a credible reputation and reliability in Hong Kong and a business branch, Li Corporation International, which has been passed down generation after generation, gaining more and more wealth and prominence over the years. The president of Li Corp is Syaoran, which, I presume, Nakuru has told you about,"

"Yes."

He nodded. "He is the heir to the Li Clan and next to rule taking his father's place." He sighed. "It's been arranged that way since he was ten years old, so he had to undergo heavy training to prepare himself for his duty,"

"Which led him to no longer have a normal childhood, straight through his adolescent years," I concluded.

He nodded. "Don't get me wrong, Syaoran's a great guy and everything, but since his training to become leader and his father's passing, I just began to see less and less of the old Xiao Lang and I had realized he changed,"

"But you could not help but wonder if it was for better or for worse."

"Indeed. He had grown so cold after his father's death, until he met…"

"His ex-fiancée,"

"Yes. And I had thought this relationship with Sayuri had done wonders for his personality because he seemed to smile more and laugh more and just…loosen up, you know."

I nodded.

"But now, well, let's just say it's back to square one with Xiao Lang, and this time it has gotten much worse."

I couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards Eriol. His voice alone told me that he cares a great deal for Syaoran, and the metamorphosis of his unemotional behaviour due to certain aspects in his life, only fuelled more concern for his friend.

I decided to change the subject. "Sounds like Li-san's secretary has a lot to do," I said.

He nodded. "A lot, but there are seven additional secretaries, the head secretariat being my fiancée, receptionists, and a head of resources department. But what's your experience as a secretary? Not that someone as young as you would have as much, I'm sure."

His question brought home how utterly ridiculous it would look to anyone else for me to be rushing to an interview for such an important position. And yet, I wasn't inordinately nervous, nor did I feel foolish. If anything, I was grateful.

"I'll save my answers for my actual interview," I replied.

Instead of being offended by the tone of my reply, Eriol nodded, impressed. "Okay. Let me give you a little advice, though, if I might."

"That's fine. Thank you."

"Xiefa Li's picture is next to 'workaholic' in the dictionary. I don't know if Kaho might have mentioned this to you, but she suffers no fools. She can be very abrupt and a bit impatient. She expects everyone who works for her and Syaoarn to be fully prepared whenever he or she speaks to her. She is chief executive of the company, but that is only until she feels it ready to transfer the position to Syaoran, who, in fact, is the sole owner of this branch. You'll find her very competitive and," –he paused to lean toward me- "very anal about what she wants done. My fiancée, Daidouji Tomoyo, has been with her for nearly four years, which, if I may be as blunt as to point this out, is a lot longer than the recent secretaries she's had. The one that transferred lasted only two months." He stared at me a moment to see the effect his description had on me.

I shrugged. "If I don't get this job, I'll get another," I said, so matter-of-factly that he dropped his jaw for a moment and then smiled, his eyes twinkling.

"That's just the sort of attitude Xiefa admires. Anyway, we're here," he added, nodding at the tall office building just ahead of us. It had taken only a few minutes to get there. I realized it was walking distance from the Mizuki House.

Eriol parked his Land Cruiser in the underground parking garage of the building. In the employees' vehicles parking lot, I noticed two spots had signs posted to reserve them, one for Li Xiefa and the other for her brother, Li Xiao Lang. That parking space was empty. Eriol nodded at it when we parked.

"He's coming in late today," he said and I nodded. We got out of the car and I glanced again at the empty parking spot reserved for Syaoran Li and then followed Eriol into the building. We took an elevator up to the twentieth floor of the building and then continued down a hallway passing cubicles with employees working furiously on computers.

"Accounting," Eriol said.

We almost paused at the door of an office that had _**"Li Xiao Lang, President"**_ printed on it. Eriol just smirked, and we continued to a very nicely appointed outer office. There was no question that the woman standing behind the desk and filing something in the cabinet was Daidouji Tomoyo. When she turned, she gazed from her fiancé to me, her amethyst eyes widening with surprise. I thought she looked very elegant and delicate-looking. She had porcelain-white skin and long, wavy, greyish-violet hair, which, reminded me of my mother's. She wore a light pink blouse and a black pencil skirt.

"This is Kinomoto Sakura," Eriol told her. I couldn't see his face when he spoke, but I imagined he was telegraphing his surprise too.

Tomoyo turned to me and smiled. "你好," (Hello,) she said. "我會告訴你到達立三," (I'll tell Li-san you've arrived,) she added before I could respond. She didn't want to waste much of her time and energy on the likes of me, I thought.

Oddly, none of this discouraged me. If anything, I felt up to the challenge.

"_Your confidence is your special armour, Sakura. Don't be afraid of being accused of arrogance. Most of the time, it will be the envious who will accuse you, anyway."_ I had fled from otou-san. I was afraid of him now, yes, but I would never forget his wisdom.

"Good luck," Eriol said. "They'll call me when it's time to run you back."

"Don't go too far," Tomoyo told him before she buzzed Li-san on her intercom.

"I won't need a ride, Eriol," I said. "Thank you, but I would like to walk and see some of Sha Tin."

"Alright, if you change your mind, I'll be nearby," he said. "Just ask Tomoyo for me." He glanced at her, smiled, and left.

"Li-san, Kinomoto Sakura is here to see you. Okay," she said, and cradled the receiver before coming around her desk to escort me to the office.

When we stood in front of a wooden door, perfectly carved into some sort of abstract art, she started to reach for the doorknob.

"I have it from here, thank you," I said, and knocked and opened the door, stepping in front of her and entering Xiefa Li's office.

She looked up from her desk, not so much with surprise as with confusion.

"I guess I'll be right outside as usual," Tomoyo said, and smiled saying "Good luck" to me and closed the door.

Li Xiefa rose slowly. She was easily five foot six or seven with an hourglass figure. She wore black slacks and a white satin blouse. Her cream-coloured complexion highlighted her light brown eyes, and she had long brown hair. Yet there was nothing hard or unpleasant in the face she was showing me at the moment. If anything, she now looked somewhat amused.

She came around her desk and, still smiling, said "Come, sit" and gestured me a seat on the dark brown leather settee on her right. "I hate sitting behind that desk when I interview someone for any position here. Makes me feel like a school principal or something." She joked.

I sat, and she sat beside me but leaned back and crossed one leg over the other.

"Tell me about yourself," she began. "My aunt filled me in on a few details of you, but I would very much like to hear them from you."

"She's very kind," I said.

"She's got good instincts when it comes to people, especially strangers." She raised one sleek brown eyebrow," What is it she saw so quickly in you?"

"Determination to succeed," I said without hesitation. Her eyes told me she liked that reply. "I try my best at not to fail anything I've attempted to do."

"Does that include computer skills?"

"It's in our DNA these days," I replied. "We had an excellent program in my school."

"My head secretariat, who you saw has developed an amazing sixth sense when it comes to what I want and what I need done. I'm looking for someone with initiative, someone I don't have to tell when something has to be done and, after a short period, what else has to be done, because I'm not anyone's babysitter. She's got her work, and I have mine.

I looked around her office. There were plaques on the walls, some from organizations showing appreciation for charitable contributions, and a variety of framed pictures with Xiefa Li and who I imagined to be board of directors from various different companies as well as entrepreneurs were there, along with a picture of who I assumed to be her brother, Xiao Lang, and an unknown woman with jet black hair, buns on either side of her head, and ruby-coloured eyes. There was a separate framed photograph of the same young woman in a graduation robe and another of her in what looked like a doctor's uniform.

"I don't judge people on how young or old they are per se, but I do find that young people your age generally don't know how to answer the phone properly," Xiefa said. "Nor take a message correctly when it comes to that and I'll tolerate no lazy-boy behaviour that will damage the basic but important communication we need."

"I suppose it would be how you were brought up as child, too," I said. "My parents set a good example for me when it came to people-to-people relations. I'm probably as frustrated by some of the careless and sloppy talk we get on the phone these days as you are. I'm not Miss Perfect, but I think I know when to put my own interest on hold and service the priorities of other people. It's a matter of self-survival anyway, isn't it?"

She stared at me a moment and then smiled. "Self-survival?"

"I've…had to fend for myself more than most lately, Li-san. You tend to grow up faster when that happens. My age and the way I look are somewhat deceptive, but then again, there will be women who come in here looking for this position who will be older and might maybe appear to be responsible and mature but who will probably be just as deceptive."

Her mouth opened a little, and then she laughed, holding her smile. I had to wonder right there and then if this was the same Xiefa Li Eriol told me was abrupt, impatient, and suffers no fools. Then again, I'm judging a book too quickly by its cover.

"I'm beginning to understand what my aunt saw." She said.

I shrugged. "I won't make any claims about myself."

She nodded. "I like it when I meet someone, young or old, who has some good perception."

"Survival," I emphasized. "When you don't have much of a safety net, you had better be right about people you meet the first time."

"You're a very pretty girl, Sakura. Do you see that as an advantage or disadvantage?"

"Depends. With men, it's…usually an advantage. Most women see me as a threat," I said, and her eyes brightened.

"You don't sound conceited, but you don't back away from a compliment either."

I shrugged. "What's true is true, Li-san. Why waste time putting on false humility? Besides, I don't want to tell you that you're wrong the first time I've met you."

She laughed so hard I thought she would have tears leak out her eyes. "Where do you come from again?"

"I'm from Japan."

"And you have no family here or in Hong Kong?"

"I'm on my own, Li-san. I am responsible for myself."

"What brought you here, I mean, this place in particular?"

"It looked like a good place to start anew. I got tired of a small town. I suppose I'm just a little bit too different, but I want to have a solid beginning and be somewhere where people are more substantial. I know I can succeed here."

She nodded; her eyes almost like hazel brown now warming with appreciation of me. "I like your determination & confidence, Sakura. Unlike most of the young people your age I have met, you seem quite centred, but what do you know about the aspects of this company? I like all of my employees to know something about what we do."

"All I can tell you, Li-san, is that I'm a quick learner, and I know that when I don't know something, I should turn to someone who does and not try to fool anyone, especially in a corporate business."

"Hmm… well, I'll see about your getting the full tour and tutoring. In the meantime…"

She got up and went to her desk to pick up the phone and buzz Tomoyo Daidouji. "Tomoyo, I want you to try something for me. I want you to give Sakura Kinomoto all of the paperwork you have left to do today. That's right. Just point it out on the computer and describe it quickly. Show her how to use the phone system. Then go take a break. You can go to the lounge, and return in two hours. She'll be right out." She hung up and looked at me.

"That okay with you, some pudding?"

"I hope there will be proof in it," I replied.

She laughed.

I stood up. "Is that your sister in the doctor's uniform?"

"Mei Ling? No. She's my cousin. She works ER at the hospital here. My family couldn't get her into the business," she chuckled, "She told me she rather the sight of blood than to be stuck in a conference room with stuffy bald guys and grumpy old men. I honestly don't know where she gets it. I get woozy at the sight of blood."

"Most people do," I said. "We have to appreciate those who don't."

She liked that; she liked that very much.

For some reason, I thought that was something that otou-san would have said. I imagined I would spend the rest of my life thinking of things he would have said. The longer I was away, the deeper I began to understand that, maybe he was right? I could never escape him?

No, he may think that I can't, but I could.

I hoped.

I stepped out of the office. Tomoyo Daidouji looked up at me with an even bigger smile of surprise than when I had first arrived with Eriol.

"What did you do?" she asked in a near whisper, gazing at the inner office door.

"Told the truth?" I said.

She wore this time a small hidden smile. "Bring that chair over," she said, indicating a chair on the right, "You'll just be using here for today."

I know she looked impressed at how quickly I picked up on the software they used. It wasn't brain surgery.

While she was away, I completed all of the work she had set aside and answered five phone calls, two of which Li-san was waiting for. She asked me to get back to each of the other three and was on the final call when Tomoyo returned. She looked over what I had done and then looked at the clock.

"Wow, a fast worker?"

"Computer's aren't such a mystery," I said, "and well, you left very good instructions." I told her.

She smiled. Li-san suddenly opened her door and stepped into the outer office. "So?" she asked Tomoyo. "Do I have her go to the business office and give them her social security number, or what?"

"She's done it all, Li-san, and quite well."

She nodded. "Why don't you leave for your doctor's appointment now, Tomoyo? Sakura can finish the day here."

"Alright," Tomoyo said. "tomorrow I'll check to be sure she has a handle on it all," she smiled and turned to me, "although I have no doubt she will."

Li-san nodded and, with a smile, returned to her office.

"I don't know who you are, Sakura Kinomoto, but you've gotten off to the best start of any employee since I've been here. Don't do anything to ruin it," Tomoyo said.

She came around her desk and had started to gather her things when a young man I recognized from her photo as Li-san's younger brother entered. To me, he looked as if he had gotten off to a bad morning already and wasn't in the mood for any shit from anyone. What surprise me, though, was when he paused and looked directly at me and smiled?

"Who is this, Tomoyo?" he asked, and Tomoyo jumped, surprised and turned to face him.

"Oh Syaoran, I didn't even see you come in. This might just be a possible replacement for me," she joked.

"So, my sister hired you?" he asked me still smiling.

Syaoran looked completely different from his sister, I thought, and I had to wonder if they were really related. He had dark brown, almost like amber, eyes, and chestnut unruly hair which made him even more handsome-and not simply because he was younger. His features were perfect, like the face Michelangelo or Picasso would have painted and he looked athletically built and was indeed much taller than myself and his sister. Was this really the same guy Nakuru and Eriol had told me so much about? The Li Syaoran that was unemotional with a cold mask in place? That never _smiled_? Because I can assure you what I was looking at was indeed a smile, directed at me.

At the moment, he wore a black dress pants with a tucked in white dress shirt; the sleeves rolled up to his elbows with a black tie. His black blazer was slung over his shoulder and he wore a gold diamond Rolex on his right hand. I couldn't help but be drawn to the sexual energy in his eyes. There was something sweet yet mysterious about him that I felt compelled to give myself to his strong masculine aura because he looked like a young man who could satisfy my desire. There was something boyish and innocent about him also, in his smile, that kept him from appearing too arrogant.

I could imagine myself crying with grateful joy at the pleasure I would find in his kiss, his embrace, his ultimate act of lo-

And did I just think that?

'_What the hell, where'd that come from?' _I thought. "She's trying me out, yes," I had finally said.

"I wouldn't have to try you out. I'd hire you immediately," he said with softness that I easily imagined his lips brushing my neck and following the line of my collarbone to the small of my throat until I gasped and he captured my lips with his.

Tomoyo looked at him with pure shock, her amethyst eyes widening as if she had heard him wrong and couldn't believe he had said that to me.

Neither of us shifted our gaze away from the other until we heard Xiefa's office door open and reality was the first to come crashing back to Syaoran who had realised what he had said to me, and turned on a heel heading the opposite direction from us.

Snapping out of her shock, Tomoyo whispered, "I think it may be a good thing you're here Kinomoto-san," her eyes had flickered to me then continued, "Syaoran-kun has _never_ acted well… to put it blunt, flirtatious to any female who has just started working here. Not since Sayuri-san had once been a new employee here herself."

She looked back at where Syaoran's form had disappeared to before heading off.

I returned to the paperwork. I couldn't believe the provocative things I had thought about the moment Syaroan and I held each other's gaze. I wasn't looking to get into a relationship with anyone, and there I was thinking of screwing the guy. Still…for some reason my stomach churned with a mixture of excitement and nervousness at what Tomoyo had said just before she left.

'_Get a grip Sakura.'_ My inner voice said. _'Besides he's way outta your league and unemotional with a cold mask, remember?'_

"But he smiled at me…" I had whispered to no one in particular, before shaking my head to dismiss my whole thought on him and what had accrued, grateful for the phone to ring.


End file.
